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Water bills to rise for millions!

17 Apr 2009 | Filed under: Utilities

According to the Times, millions of families were threatened with rises in their water bills of up to 29 per cent after Britain’s water industry submitted plans to Ofwat.

Thames Water asked Ofwat for permission to increase its customers’ average annual bill by 17 per cent from £283 to £331 in 2015.

Some of the smaller companies, such as Bristol Water, which supplies water, but not sewage services, to more than half a million customers in the South West, announced proposed rises of 29 per cent from an average annual bill of £146 to £189 in 2015.

The ten largest companies have proposed spending £22.5 billion on network upgrades from 2010 to 2015, representing a total average increase in their annual charges of just under 7 per cent to fund improvements to pipe networks, pumping stations and sewerage plants.

Proposed increases varied from only £2 above inflation at Welsh Water, to £48 at Thames Water, the largest of Britain’s 22 water companies with 13.6 million customers in London and the South East.

Thames, which plans to invest £5.5 billion over 2010 to 2015, blamed the deteriorating economy for the price rises.

David Owen, its chief executive, said: “The recession is having an impact on our business, just as it is on all our customers. Many of our costs are increasing, and particularly the cost of financing vital improvements to our networks.”

Britain’s water companies submit their spending proposals for upgrades to their water and sewerage networks to Ofwat every five years.

The regulator will offer a draft response to their proposals in July and in November will issue its final determination, which will fix the total amount they are permitted to charge consumers until 2015.